Golf Blog 100: Top 100 U.S.

[Jim Colton]

I've been part of this project that just launched, a Top 100 ranking that is the collective view of many of the top golf bloggers.  The goal is for the site  (http://www.golfblog100.com/) to be a good resource for information on the top golf courses in the world.  Right now, you can find just about every blog post ever done on one of these courses.  Look for detailed course profiles to be posted soon, about 2-3 profiles added per week.

Below is the Top 50.

1. Pine Valley Golf Club - Pine Valley, NJ
2. Cypress Point Club - Pebble Beach, CA
3. Sand Hills Golf Club - Mullen, NE
4. National Golf Links of America - Southampton, NY
5. Shinnecock Hills Golf Club - Southampton, NY
6. Merion Golf Club (East) - Ardmore, PA
7. Oakmont Country Club - Oakmont, PA
8. Seminole Golf Club - Juno Beach, FL
9. Augusta National Golf Club - Augusta, GA
10. Pacific Dunes - Bandon, OR
11. Pebble Beach Golf Links - Pebble Beach, CA
12. Fishers Island Club - Fishers Island, NY
13. Chicago Golf Club - Wheaton, IL
14. Prairie Dunes Country Club - Hutchinson, KS
15. Crystal Downs Country Club - Frankfort, MI
16. San Francisco Golf Club - San Francisco, CA
17. Garden City Golf Club - Garden City, NY
18. Oakland Hills Country Club (South) - Bloomfield Hills, MI
19. The Golf Club - New Albany, OH
20. Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club - Holyoke, CO
21. Winged Foot Golf Club (West) - Mamaroneck, NY
22. Pinehurst Resort & Country Club (No. 2) - Pinehurst, NC
23. Muirfield Village Golf Club - Dublin, OH
24. Kiawah Island Golf Resort (The Ocean Course) - Kiawah Island, SC
25. Bethpage State Park (Black) - Farmingdale, NY
26. Los Angeles Country Club (North) - Los Angeles, CA
27. Bandon Dunes - Bandon, OR
28. Riviera Country Club - Pacific Palisades, CA
29. Maidstone Club - East Hampton, NY
30. Friar's Head - Baiting Hollow, NY
31. The Country Club (Clyde/Squirrel) - Brookline, MA
32. Whistling Straits (Straits) - Haven, WI
33. Shoreacres - Lake Bluff, IL
34. Wade Hampton Club - Cashiers, NC
35. Somerset Hills Country Club - Bernardsville, NJ
36. Camargo Club - Indian Hill, OH
37. Rock Creek Cattle Company - Deer Lodge, MT
38. Sebonack Golf Club - Southampton, NY
39. TPC at Sawgrass (Stadium) - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
40. Southern Hills Country Club - Tulsa, OK
41. Shadow Creek Golf Club - North Las Vegas, NV
42. The Honors Course - Ooltewah, TN
43. Chambers Bay Golf Club - University Place, WA
44. Pete Dye Golf Club - Bridgeport, WV
45. Oak Hill Country Club (East) - Rochester, NY
46. Inverness Club - Toledo, OH
47. Quaker Ridge - Scarsdale, NY
48. Valley Club of Montecito - Santa Barbara, CA
49. Scioto Country Club - Columbus, OH
50. Old Sandwich Golf Club - Plymouth, MA

[Ed Oden]

Jim, terrific job!  I will admit that I was a bit skeptical that your methodology would produce a better list than the mags.  But, based on a quick first glance, you may have succeeded.

Ed

[Bill_McBride]

That's a darn good list.  I'll give it 3.9 (of 4.0).

If Pasatiempo was in there, it would be a 4.0 list.

I really do need to see Ballyneal if it's ranked up there!

[Joel_Stewart]

Just what we need is another list.

Is Rock Creek Cattle that good to be #37?   Also Shadow Creek was just voted out of the top 100 by Golf Magazine and this list has it at #41.   No Olympic Club in the top 50?  No matter how much they have butchered and screwed up at Olympic, its still better then Shadow Creek.

[Mike Nuzzo]

What is a top golf blogger?
cheers

[Jim Colton]

Pasa is 64; Olympic is 52. From what I've heard from some that have played Rock Creek, 37th might be too low.

Mainly, I wanted to test a theory whether you could build a better ranking by advancing the math beyond the simplistic methods likely used by the publications, and it seems to work well even with 30 panelists. There's going to be bias that's a natural function of who is in your pool, but hopefully that is mitigated by getting more diverse opinions. I believe these can be improved upon with greater numbers, so if you're interested in participating in the future, please let me know.

Jim

[David Stamm]

That's a darn good list.  I'll give it 3.9 (of 4.0).

If Pasatiempo was in there, it would be a 4.0 list.

 

+1 my good man. But what did you expect?

[John Handley]

My two cents....

Sand Hills seems a little high.  Not sure if it's ahead of Shinny and Augusta.  Me personally, Maidstone is way overrated.  And the California Golf Club should be on there.

[Jim Colton]

My two cents....

Sand Hills seems a little high.  Not sure if it's ahead of Shinny and Augusta.  Me personally, Maidstone is way overrated.  And the California Golf Club should be on there.

John,

I agree with you, but that's how the numbers turned out. 3-6 were all right on top of each other and are almost interchangeable.

[Emil Weber]

Rustic Canyon ?

[Peter Pallotta]

Dave - you're not a man prone to hyperbole (well, actually, you ARE a man prone to hyperbole, but usually to interesting or edifying effect), but you've mentioned several times now how impressed you are by Rock Creek,  and so I'd like to ask the same question that I did Sully (about RNK, and that he answered so well):

In terms of presenting a challenge to getting the ball in the hole in the fewest possible strokes, how does RC stack up against some of the courses you play more regularly, and how would you describe the style/nature of that challenge.

Thanks (and maybe this isn't the thread for it, but if you get the chance to answer sometime it'd be much appreciated)

Peter 

[Peter Pallotta]

Thanks, Dave - I very much appreciate that answer/description.

[John Blain]

Jim,

Shouldn't #17 be Garden City Golf Club?

-John

[Jim Colton]

Yeah, I switched it to GCGC on the site.

[JR Potts]

Not bad Jim.  Certainly way better than our Illini.  That said, anything that includes that Top100golfer clueless wonder is immediately tainted and irrelevant in my opinion.

[Doug Ralston]

How many courses on this list has EACH of the bloggers played? How do they rank those they HAVE played against those they have NOT. Rumor?

Seriously, this is another futile attempt to rank courses when NO ONE has played them all, and if they had others doing it would see it quite differently.

The more attempts I see at ranking golf courses, the less meaning I take from it. Too bad it has such influence. Had been better to just leave it to 'word of mouth' from associates.

Well, it's fun, at least.

Doug

[John Sabino]

Jim - Nice job. The methodology you used must be working as Medinah didn't make the cut. John

[John Sabino]

I meant, the top 50.

[Jason McNamara]

So out of curiosity, was the Rago fellow (Joe, iirc) a pseudonym, or the previous author of the site, or...?

[JR Potts]

Jim - Nice job. The methodology you used must be working as Medinah didn't make the cut. John

I don't care where Medinah ranks.  In fact, I think it is pretty well ranked in this list.  That said, you're a disrespectful clown.  Your review was absolutely pathetic as it was totally inaccurate as to even the holes being reviewed.  I would love to know the member who hosted you - as I would love to have a little talk with him....he should be as ashamed as you.  Or did you receive a comped round?

I'm glad you didn't enjoy Medinah...because it will likely be the last time you play it.

And that said, I can appreciate you writing candid reviews of courses - but when you've been hosted, or comped, and nobody at the course spit in your drink or accosted you, I think there should be a whole lot more decorum in one's writings - be it Medinah or any other course.

The fact that one is called a golf journalist and is automatically included in such rankings merely by begging one's way onto golf courses, taking a couple of pictures and writing about it does speak volumes about the reliability of any ranking that includes this persons thoughts. And the fact that some may cite to it shows the total shortcomings in todays "on-line journalists."

[Brian_Ewen]

Did you use the word "World" ?